Integrity and the Scientist's Daughter
by ThePoeticWeirdo
Summary: Vera lost everything. Evie has nothing. Maybe together, they can find something.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. I wrote this a while ago and deleted it because I had no ideas for what to do with it. I found the first two (and only two) chapters on my hard drive and I guess I'm just posting them because someone might enjoy them. IDK. I don't own Undertale. I just wrote this story.**

The blue soul slowly bobbed up and down in its glass prison. "Daddy! It's so beautiful!" Vera pointed at it excitedly.

Dr. W. D. Gaster gave a small nod of agreement. "Remember what I said, though."

"Look but don't touch," Vera dutifully recited. "Daddy, of course I know that."

"Alright," the scientist accepted her words. "I'll be in just the next room if you need anything."

"Ok." The ten-year-old grinned when her father disappeared with a swish of his black lab coat. She had the lab all to herself! Time to do some exploring! Vera spun around, taking it all in. It was an under-the- underground wonderland, a place of science and wonder that existed only an elevator ride down, and her father had finally said that she was old enough to go with him to it! Taking in every neatly piled stack of research papers, every queer device of science, Vera decided that her father's lab was the greatest place in the world.

The young skeleton focused her attention back on the blue soul. It had grabbed her interest the moment she had skipped out of the elevator, a glowing heart of magic, peaceful and showing no sign of protest as it floated patiently in it's glass jar. It was a human soul, her father had told her, one of only six in the entire Underground. The other five were up at the castle; this one was down here because it was being studied. _How long have you had it?_ she had asked. He wasn't sure - it had been there when the previous royal scientist had owned the lab and he didn't know how long it had been there before. At least two hundred years, though. _Can the human hurt us?_ No, she had been dead for a long time now and there was nothing a little soul could do when it was locked up in a jar like that. Vera gave it a sympathetic look. As awful as she had been taught that humans were, the little monster couldn't help but feel a little bad for the trapped person.

The soul couldn't hurt her. Her father had said so. With that confidence, Vera took a step closer to the shelf with the jar on it. The little blue heart floated up and down, not seeming to care. "Can you do anything?" Vera asked it. The soul continued to hover inside its prison. _Of course it isn't going to say anything. It's just a soul_ , Vera sighed to herself. It was pretty to look at, but other that that, it was fairly boring.

A loud crash sounded from inside the room Vera's father was in. The little monster jumped and spun around to the door. "Daddy?" she called. No answer. _He's doing his science stuff._ Vera tapped on the door. _He's busy with his work. Don't bother him._ "Daddy? Are you ok?" Weird whirring sounds were coming from the other side of the door. Vera pushed the _open_ button and let herself in.

The room looked like a bomb had been detonated in it. Vera's eye sockets widened. A massive ball of light took center stage, it's harsh glow illuminating the contents There was metal debris scattered everywhere on the floor, bolts and wires but also larger pieces that looked as if they could have only gotten as shredded and mangled as they were by the teeth of some monstrous meat grinder. Her father was nowhere to be seen. Rooted to the spot with shock, Vera hardly noticed the smallest debris slowly begin to twitch where they rested and start moving towards the brilliant ball, pulled by some invisible force. More objects began to tremble as they were dragged into the luminescent sphere. From across the room, Vera's dress started to ripple as if some breeze was pushing her towards the strange ball of light. That was when she saw her father.

Dr. W. D. Gaster shakily got to his feet and took a stumbling sidestep towards the Core. This had all gone terribly _terribly_ wrong. Some variable hadn't been accounted for, some screw hadn't been tight enough - whatever the reason, his creation had started malfunctioning and he couldn't stop it form escalating into _this_. There was no fixing it now; all he could do was get as far away from it as possible and wait for it to consume itself (and a good deal of his work along the way). It was pulling things in at an alarming rate, but its immense power would burn out after a short burst. At least, that was what he was his models told him would happen if the Core exploded like this. If not, well, the Underground would be in for some trouble. Probably the rest of the world would as well. But his models had always been accurate and his calculations precise so there was little chance anything would happen, as long as he got away from his malfunctioning creation.

"Daddy!" Vera screamed.

"Vera! We have to get out of here!" he shouted as he struggled to free himself from the Core's pull. Large chunks of metal were flying into the hungry glowing ball, the situation becoming more and more dangerous with each passing moment. Gaster was halfway across the room, Vera still at the door.

"Daddy! Watch out!" A chunk of a torn-up machine smacked Gaster directly in the rib cage, knocking him backwards. The Core pulled him closer. "Daddy! I- I'm coming!" The young monster stumbled forward, towards her father.

"Verdana Gaster! You will turn around right now and run!" Dr. Gaster ordered. Vera whimpered and took a step back. "I said _run!_ " he shouted, his feet disappearing into the luminescent sphere. Vera turned and ran.

Pieces of the walls were being ripped out and pulled into the brilliant Core. Vera sprinted as fast as her little legs could carry her, tears streaming back to be sucked into the hungry orb. Her father was _gone!_ She had to get help, and quickly! There had to be somebody who could rescue him - there had to be a _way_ to rescue him! A tile on the floor was pulled up and into the Core. Vera yelped and tripped forward. The ball of light was waiting. The young monster screamed as she felt what could only be described as pieces of her very essence being ripped away from her.

And at that moment, the Core gave a blinding flash of light and burned itself out.

The blue soul floated calmly in its now cracked jar that rested on the ground.

The lab was completely silent.


	2. Chapter 2

_Searching for File: 1/Wing Ding Gaster..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Error: File not found_

 _Terminating sequence prematurely. Searching for File: 1/Verdana Gaster..._

 _File found_

 _Repairing..._

 _Completed._

 _Searching for File 2/Verdana Gaster..._

 _File found_

 _Repairing..._

 _Completed._

 _Searching for File 3/Verdana Gaster..._

 _File found_

 _Repairing..._

 _Completed._

...

 _Searching for File 119/Verdana Gaster..._

 _File found_

 _Repairing..._

 _Completed. Sequence Complete. Starting..._

The first thing that Vera noticed when she opened her eyes was that the lab looked like a long-abandoned mess. Shakily, the little monster got to her feet and brushed the debris dust off of her dress. _Her father._ Her father was in trouble. She had to get help! Scattered bits of metal and tile crunched under her feet as she ran for the elevator. But that was no longer an option. Vera gasped when she turned the corner and saw the huge machine of arcane science that had fallen across the path, blocking it completely. _No no no no._ She had to find another exit. She had to get out of here! Her daddy was in trouble and she had to find somebody to help him!

There was no other exit. Vera searched every foot of the lab, but there was no way out except for the one that was blocked. Despairing, she lowered her head and began to cry. _Daddy... I can't... And now I'm trapped here..._ Angry and upset at her helplessness, she kicked a piece of rubble that was by her foot. The crushed pieces of tile skidded across the dusty floor and clinked against the cracked glass of the blue soul's prison. Given its final push, the glass shattered.

Slowly, the now-free heart began to float upwards. It cast a dim blue light, illuminating the lab as it ascended. Once it reached a point a few feet above the ground, the soul hovered in midair for a second before making a sudden demand for attention by rapidly intensifying its light to a blinding blue. Vera yelped and covered her eyes. As suddenly as it had started, the burning glow died down. In place of a heart stood a human girl. She stared at Vera. Vera stared at her. They both screamed.

"Woah woah woah," the human put her hands up to try to make a signal for the both of them to calm down. "Please let's be quiet!" she grimaced, nervously taking in her surroundings. "Please, you have to be very, very quiet."

Vera was too busy hyperventilating to listen. This was very very _very_ bad. She hadn't learned much at all about fighting yet and now she was trapped in a room with a human and humans were supposedly so powerful that it took a thousand monster souls to equal the power of just one of theirs and this girl looked like she couldn't be more than a year or two older than Vera but she could probably turn her to dust in a second if she wanted to and this was really really bad and-

"Are you going to kill me?" she squeaked.

The girl's eyes stopped darting around and focused on the skeleton. "I wouldn't attack you unless you attacked me," she said, looking absolutely horrified at the thought. "I have morals. I'm not going to go murder some kid just because she's a monster. Besides, you freed me, right?" She made a motion towards the shattered glass jar. "Classic soul trap, right? I'd have never gotten out without your help. Thank you." She smiled gratefully and then went back to looking nervous. "I need to get out of here before the monsters who put me in it come back. Could you help me?"

Vera closed her eyes and tried to sort the sense out of the past minute. Her daddy was in trouble. She was alone in the lab with another kid. The kid was a human. The human wasn't attacking her. The human was asking for help to get out.

"Hey, monster girl, I don't know how much time we have until those guys come back," the human tapped her foot nervously, once again looking for an escape route.

"Um, nobody is going to come," Vera answered. "The lab is empty and the exit's blocked and I don't know h-how to get out a-and my d-daddy's in trouble a-and I have t-to help him but I-I don't know h-how to g-get out."

Nervousness turned into concern, the human stopped looking around. "Hey, woah, hey, it's ok. I'll help you. Where is your father?"

"He fell into one of the things he had to make as the royal scientist."

The girl's eyes widened. "Your father is the royal scientist?" Vera gave a small nod. "But you helped me," the girl frowned. She sat down and shook her head. "Dr. Maedrus, is the cruelest being alive and I get saved by his daughter. Wow."

"Dr. Maedrus? I've never heard of that guy. My father's Dr. Gaster."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Maedrus is the royal scientist of the monsters. I've never heard of a Dr. Gaster, monster girl."

"My name is Vera, actually, not 'monster girl.'"

"Of course," the girl blushed. "Sorry. I'm Evie, by the way." She sighed. "So, any theories on why neither of us knows who the heck the other is talking about?"

"Um, I guess that a lot of things have probably changed in the last 200 years," Vera suggested.

"200...?" Evie started. Realization dawned. "200 - I've been stuck in that jar for _two hundred years?!_ " Vera gave a small nod. "Two. Hundred. Years. TWO HUNDRED YEARS! I missed the past two hundred years!" She shook her head, trying to calm down. "Two hundred years," she repeated. "Wow. I guess that's what I get for using magic that's way too advanced for me to be messing with." She shook her head again. "I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"I don't know much about history, human or monster. I don't think I can help much with that. But, um," Vera frowned, "humans can't use magic, so how did you?"

"What the heck do you mean? Tons of people have magic..." She closed her eyes. "People can't do magic anymore. This is the future I'm living in." She sighed unhappily. "I guess I'll never learn how that spell was supposed to go."

"I don't know much magic, either," Vera said, "but we once we rescue him my daddy could probably teach you. What spell was it?" she couldn't resist asking.

"I'm not sure if your dad will have any idea what I'm talking about. It was a pretty advanced piece of magic, one that most adults back in my time wouldn't even know existed, much less be able to do," Evie answered. "It was supposed to make me turn into pure energy so the monsters that were chasing me wouldn't be able to catch me and take my soul. Unfortunately," she sighed, "I messed up big time and made every part of me _except_ for my soul disappear. I was no longer conscious by then so I can only guess what happened next, but I suppose they put me in a jar and I couldn't put myself back together because I was in too tight of a space. I suppose that that's how I was for the next two hundred years, until you freed me."

"That does sound complicated, but my daddy's the royal scientist. He's really good with magic, too."

"Still, he probably won't help me anyway." Evie blew a lock of hair out of her face. "Last time I walked around down here, I got the very clear message that monsters don't really like humans. And they definitely don't like me."

Vera looked down at her dress. Evie _had_ been attacked, and the monsters today would probably react the same way as they had before to seeing a human in the Underground. Even the monsters she knew would probably try to attack Evie. Heck, had Vera known more magic, _she_ would have wanted to attack Evie. But once she had gotten to know Evie as a person, she couldn't go back to seeing her as just a heart that could be used to break the barrier. She looked at her knew friend, eye sockets sparkling with determination. "If we go together, we can find my daddy and then I'll tell him how nice you are and he'll tell everybody else and you'll be safe."

"You really think that will work? Don't monsters still want to break the barrier?"

"Yeah, but my daddy was working on ways to get us free without any souls. He was studying how to make determination. I'm sure he'll fix everything. Then we'll all get to the Surface and everybody will know how nice humans can be and then you can tell all the humans how nice monsters can be and then there won't have to be any war."

"No war. That's a nice thought," mused Evie. "Especially since people don't have magic to fight with any longer." She gave a half-smile. "Well, I guess there's no reason to shoot it down any plan without first trying it. A monster protecting a human and a human helping to save a monster and the two of them trying to stop a war. Who knew. It's so crazy, it might just work." She shrugged. "So, you said something about the exit to this place being blocked?"

Vera nodded. "A big machine fell across the path and it's too heavy to move."

"Could I see it?"

Evie nudged the contraption with her foot. "Hmm, that does look heavy. Have you tried using magic to move it?" Vera shook her head. She barely knew how to summon an attack, much less destroy a huge machine. "Ok," said Evie. "That's where we'll start, then." She stared intently ahead and the machine glowed a deep blue. Before their eyes, it began to shrink down to a more manageable size. "There," said Evie, picking up the now miniature obstacle. The door to the elevator was just ahead.

Crossing her fingers that it would work, Vera pressed the up button. Giving a mechanical wine, the elevator's gears and pulleys rumbled back to live and the door opened for the two girls. "Here we go, I guess," said Vera, stepping in. "Next stop, the main floor of my daddy's lab."


	3. Chapter 3

**Somehow, after approximately one million eons, this has been updated.**

"So, we just have to find a way to get your dad back, and he'll be able to fix this mess between humans and monsters?"

Vera nodded, feeling confident. "If there's anyone who can solve a problem, it's him. He's absolutely brilliant! If we can find him and explain your situation, he'll just tell Asgore that humans don't want to attack us and he won't start the war. And you can tell all the humans that monsters don't want a war, either!"

"Definitely." They stepped onto the bridge connecting Hotland and Waterfall. So far, they hadn't encountered any monsters, which Vera counted as a good thing, because it was going to be tough to explain where here father had disappeared to or why she was suddenly with a human. They had had one close call back in the lab, when they had stepped off the elevator to discover the room full of boxes and lights flashing in the upstairs area, but Evie had pulled them away before they could investigate. On that matter, Evie had kept her thoughts to herself.

The air started to cool, and the scenery reflected the area change. They passed a subterranean stream of luminescent water. "Um, Evie?"

Evie looked over. "Yeah?"

"Where are we going?"

Evie stopped. Vera walked a few steps before Evie pulled her back. To the little skeleton's surprise, she was shoved behind a stalagmite, and when she tried to protest, a fleshy hand closed over her mouth. "Don't move," Evie threatened. Vera froze, as silent as the grave.

A moment later, a small and very clean turtle monster waddled past. In a high, squeaky voice, it sang, "Rub a dub dub, squeaky clean scrub." The words faded into echoes as the monster went on its merry way.

Evie relaxed, allowing Vera to wiggle free. "What was that for?" she demanded.

Evie looked defensive. "I was saving our lives. What did you expect me to do, invite it to capture me?"

"It was just trying to make you clean! That's what it does!" But at the same time, she did see the human's point. She sighed, and then remembered the conversation that had been cut off. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Evie stopped again, and for a moment, Vera thought that she was going to shove her behind another stalagmite. Instead, the human girl blushed sheepishly. The expression looked strange on her normally serious face. "I, uh, I guess I haven't explained that, have I?" She sat down and patted the patch of ground next to her for Vera. "I'll be honest, I'm kind of winging this here," she admitted. "The plan is to get your dad back. Unfortunately, we don't have access to anything on the Surface, I'm only familiar with stuff that was here two hundred years ago, and the whole Underground is out for my soul."

"Those don't sound like the best odds."

"I know." Then she perked up. "Well, maybe we can't go to the Surface, but if we can get close to it, I have an idea that just might work."

Vera scooted a little closer and Evie regarded her for a moment before explaining. "There are two entry points to the Surface, right? One a that big city, New Home, and the other on the side of Mt. Ebott. I don't think we can just pirouette into New Home, so that leaves one option out of the question. The question is, is the other still open?"

Vera thought for a moment. "I think so. I mean, all those humans had to fall from somewhere, right?" She was a little dismayed to see the seriousness return to Evie's face. "Um, why do we need to get close to the Surface, though?"

"I need to try something." Evie stood up without going on, although Vera staring at her with puppy dog eye sockets did a fair bit to mar the crypticness of the moment. "It's a spell," she finally explained. "We might not know how to get your father back, but I might be able to contact someone who does."

That night, amid the cold rocks and luminescent water, they paused their journey. Of course, with no actual sky above them, neither girl knew if it was actually night, but Vera was tired and Evie consented to stop with her for a quick rest.

"Evie?" Evie looked over. Vera was curled up on a soft patch of moss, trying to get comfortable. "Evie, do you really think we'll get my daddy back?"

Evie was quiet for a moment. "I think we will. We've made it this far, haven't we?"

"Yeah." She yawned, and her jaw looked like it was about to become unhinged. "Evie, what do you want to do after all of this is over and we can go to the Surface?"

"I don't really know." She leaned back and gazed up at the sparkling rocks that the monsters had in place of stars. "I honesty haven't thought that far ahead just yet. I guess there isn't really anyone there for me any longer. I mean, maybe I'll find out I have a great-great-fifteen-times-great grandnephew or niece. I guess, well, I don't know. I guess I've just been trying for so long to fix what my family did, you know, take responsibility for their actions, that I haven't really thought about what comes next. Vera?"

But Vera was fast asleep, lost in the distant world of dreams.

 **I sincerely hope that whoever is reading this has a nice day.**


	4. Chapter 4

In her dream, Vera was four again. She was sitting on her bed with her daddy, and he was reading a book to her. "…and the duckling was so determined, that as he flapped his wings, he at last was able to fly. The end," Gaster finished.

Little Vera yawned and snuggled closer to her daddy. His thick black lab coat smelled of sterilization, spaghetti, and home. "Good night, Daddy," she said sleepily.

"Good night, Vera." He tucked her in and left her with a kiss. "Now go to sleep, sweetie."

But she couldn't. She closed her eyes and she couldn't. Vera's father stood at the bedroom door, a dark figure in darker clothes. Vera looked at him, and for the first time in her short life, she was suddenly afraid of him. "Go to sleep," he said gently, and he left, the world on the other side of the door growing yet darker as each moment passed.

Vera slipped out of bed and went through the door. Outside the door, there was water. Dark water and cold stone. Her father turned the corner at the end of the passage and she followed, not quite sure what would happen if she lost him now, but too fearful to want to find out. Something in her four-year-old mind told her that this wasn't right, that there shouldn't be dark water and cold stone on the other side of her bedroom door, but something also told her that this was only a dream. She sped up.

Her father opened up a gray door and went through it. Vera thought it was strange that a gray door should be in the middle of all this dark water and cold stone, but this was only a dream, and besides, her father was waiting for her. She went through the gray door and watched it close behind her.

"Daddy, what's happening?" He was standing at the end of the room, facing towards her, but he didn't reply. "Daddy, what are you doing here? Where are we, and why did we come here?" She moved closer to him, but still he did not reply. "Daddy, what's going on here?! Why won't you answer me?!"

He moved suddenly, and Vera screamed. But he was only holding her, just like he always did. "Daddy, I'm so scared. Why did you come here?" she sobbed, burying her face into the shadowy blackness of his robes.

"You have to wake up."

Vera looked up, half expecting to see something horrible, but there was only her daddy, looking down at her with a smile full of concern. He wrapped his skeletal arms around her and gave her one last squeeze before letting her go. "You have to wake up, sweetie," he repeated.

And Vera woke up. She woke up on the other side of a gray door in a room that didn't exist. She screamed, and screamed a little more, and then she flung open the gray door and bolted down the hallway, all the way back to Evie.

"Evie Evie Evie Evie Evieeeeeeeeeeee!"

Dark blue magic shot around Vera in a shield as the human sprang out of sleep, fully in defense mode. She spun around, searching for attackers, and made two and a half turns before she realized that it was just her and Vera. "What happened?" she asked.

The little skeleton panted, watching the magic shield dissipate around her. "I was sleeping. And I saw my daddy. And there was a door. And my daddy kept telling me to wake up," she gasped out.

Evie's arms wrapped around her, a little awkwardly. "Relax, Vera. It was only a dream, okay?"

"No it wasn't! Evie, I woke up in a really weird room! I couldn't do that if it was all just a dream, right?"

"Maybe you were sleep walking," Evie said doubtfully.

"I wasn't! I really did see him! Evie, I think he's trying to tell me something!"

"Okay, okay, I believe you!" Evie backed up. "Can you show me where was this room is?"

Vera nodded and turned around. Retracing the steps she had taken in her panicked flight, she passed once, twice, and a third time through the area she thought she remembered the gray door to be in. "It was right here!" she exclaimed, kicking the wall in frustration.

Evie bit her lip. "Vera, there's nothing here," she said gently.

"Yes there is!" Vera screamed. Evie tensed up, glancing around to make sure that no one had heard her. Vera had slid down the wall and was holding her knees up to her chest. "It's somewhere around here. It has to be," she whispered. "He was really there."

She closed her eyes and tried to bring back that memory, that moment. It hung before her like a dream, close enough for her to think that she could make it out, but always too far to understand more than a snatch of it. When she opened her eyes, she was blinking back tears.

"Sometimes, a dream seems so real that it's almost impossible to realize it's not. The lights and colors and feelings are just so vivid, so lifelike, that you're can't figure out how you only imagined them. It's strange, the things our minds can do." Evie sat down next to Vera, and the little skeleton was too tired to push her away. "Even if it was only a dream, look at how far we've gotten. We'll get your dad back before you can miss him any more, okay?"

Evie elbowed her gently and Vera gave in with a sigh. "Okay," she muttered, and went a little limp. It hurt, letting go of the dream that had seemed so real. Maybe Evie was right, though. _Back before I can miss you any more. I'll get you back_ , she thought, and closed her eyes. The last remnants of the dream drifted out of her mind and disappeared like a lifting fog. She willed them to go away, but not all of them were willing to leave.


End file.
